Josef K

Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. Although they released just one album while together and achieved only moderate success, they have since proved influential on many bands that followed. The band was formed in 1979 originally as TV Art by Paul Haig (vocals, guitar) and Ronnie Torrance (drums), later joined by Malcolm Ross (guitar, keyboards), with Gary McCormack added on bass guitar, who soon left (later joining The Exploited) with David Weddell replacing him.

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Links To Peel

Peel played Josef K's material often in the late 70s and early 80s, including two sessions, as well as less frequently after their split, into the 21st century. Although officially listed as a session, the group's first outing for the DJ was actually composed of tracks recorded for an intended debut album that the band chose not to put out. The scrapped recordings eventually saw an official release in 1990 under the title 'Sorry For Laughing'.

While the Edinburgh band are often associated with the influential Postcard indie label, based in Glasgow, Peel had already given airtime to their debut single on the Absolute imprint of Orange Juice drummer Steven Daly before they came under the "Sound Of Young Scotland" banner. The final Josef K single, also played by Peel, was released by Les Disques Du Crépescule in Belgium, a label with close links to Factory Records.[1]

According to one story, Josef K frontman Paul Haig wrote to the DJ to express gratitude for his support but was not at home when Peel phoned the musician up in return, leaving the radio presenter to thank Haig's mother instead.[2]